Actions and Words
by Ekusukallybaa
Summary: Actions speak louder than words, and Sasuke's actions speak louder than most. Divergence fic.


Actions and Words

Chapter 1: A Liar's Guide to Life

"Actions speak louder than words."

Sound familiar?

Of course it does. It's a lesson that's hammered into every child's head from an incredibly young age by well-meaning parents or guardians. "Never take anyone's words at face value," they say, "Look at what they do, not what they say," they say.

I remember my own father once tried to teach me something similar.

Of course, since I was a six-year-old child with an inferiority complex the size of the moon back then, I could hardly be blamed for not thinking too much about it at the time.

It really only became relevant around six years after my beloved brother brutally murdered my entire family in front of me, then forced me to relive the experience over and over and over again for three whole days in my mind.

Though of course, you probably already know all about that, unless, of course, you've been living with your head stuck in the ground for the past twenty years.

I digress. If we're going to tell a story, we should start at the beginning.

Hmm…

I guess… there's really only one place _to _start. The place where it all began.

The Forest of Death. During our, during _Team Seven's_, first Chuunin Exam.

Our first taste of true fear.

XXX

From the moment I met Orochimaru, I knew I was going to kill him. Crush him like the worm he was, at some point in the not-to-distant future.

Why? Besides the obvious?

Well, at the time, I thought it was just anger. Anger that Orochimaru was stronger than me. Anger that that _bastard_ had dared to look down on my team and I.

But later on, I realized the real reason was the revelation that the Snake Sannin had brought with him.

I was not strong enough.

I had not been strong enough to protect my family, and in the same way, I was not strong enough to protect Naruto and Sakura from Orochimaru. I was a weakling, and if there was one lesson that Itachi had taught me well, it was that the weak would never be able to protect the things precious to them.

At that time, above all every else… I was willing to sacrifice everything to protect those two. I would have thrown away my pride, dug out my own eyes, given up on my revenge on Itachi. _Everything_.

And I had been certain that that "everything" would be enough to stop whatever the world threw at them.

But then, Orochimaru had arrived and shown me how little my "everything" was in the face of absolute power. He had shattered my delusions, rendered even my ability to sacrifice myself for the people I cared about meaningless.

And so, as he sunk his teeth into my shoulder and marked me with his seal that night, and as my overflowing hatred for that monster threatened to consume me, there was only one thought in my mind.

_I need to become stronger_.

XXX

At the beginning of the third stage of the Chuunin exams, Kakashi pulled me away for personal training to prepare me for my fight against Sabaku no Gaara. There, he taught me his personal technique, the Chidori.

And so, when I returned to Konoha, one month later, I was sure that I had grown stronger.

I thought that because I had learned one technique, and had copied a few others, that made me capable of fighting Itachi. When Kakashi taught me the Chidori, I was certain that _this_ would be my sword. _This_ jutsu would be the weapon I would use to run my brother's black heart through, and end his miserable existence forever. _This_ was the technique that I would use to silence the screams of my dead family members.

I was an arrogant little shit.

That fact was thrown into my face once more when Gaara nearly killed my teammates, transforming into a monster made of sand, a creature that I stood no chance against.

To protect my teammates, my family, I told Naruto to flee with Sakura while I held Gaara off. Of course, the idiot didn't listen.

He wouldn't have been Naruto if he had.

No, instead, while I was crippled by the side-effects of the Cursed Seal, Naruto went and single-handedly defeated the enemy village's greatest weapon, saving me, Sakura, and an entire village.

I should have been jealous. I should have been angry that the dobe had done what I couldn't do.

But instead, there was only one emotion that coursed through my every cell.

Admiration.

Naruto was strong. He was strong not because of hate, like what Itachi preached, but because he protected his friends.

And at that point, I knew that that would be the path that I would follow; it would be one more blow against my brother, and his philosophy.

XXX

But the revelation of my own arrogance was not the only one Orochimaru's invasion brought.

No, I also realized the arrogance of another.

The Leaf.

Konoha had grown weak. They had allowed an S-Rank Missing-nin into their village, and their Hokage had been assassinated as a result. Half the village had been burned down in the chaos, and the death toll ran into the thousands.

This all proved only one thing to me.

Konoha couldn't protect us. Konoha couldn't protect Naruto and Sakura.

This was a conclusion that was only reinforced by an incident that happened a few weeks later.

My first meeting with my brother in six years.

Yes, Itachi had returned to Konoha, and worse, he hadn't even been targeting _me_.

He was after Naruto.

And then, when I had tried to defend my best friend, I had been swatted aside like a fly, and reminded, in an incredibly painful fashion, about the death of my first family.

Of course, at the time, I had no clue about the Kyuubi, and what Akatsuki's true objective was.

My young mind could draw only one conclusion as to why Itachi had targeted Naruto.

It was because of me.

And what made it worse was that Orochimaru had hurt my friends for the _exact same reason_.

So when I woke up after my coma, I knew there was only one thing I could do to protect them, to protect Naruto, Sakura, and even Kakashi.

I had to leave.

I had to escape the Leaf. I had to resolve these problems on my own. I had to kill Orochimaru and Itachi.

And only then, could I return.

And so, I started plotting an escape.

Of course, at the time, it was just a vague plan. It would have required _weeks_ to really formulate something complete, but before I could finish, I was saved from the hassle by the devil himself.

Orochimaru was inviting _me_ to his inner sanctum, to be trained. He was offering me a way of learning his techniques, his strengths and his weaknesses. A way to obtain the power to stop both him and Itachi, and to protect my friends.

He'd dropped everything I needed right in my lap.

And the only price I needed to pay was my soul.

All in all, I think that it was a rather nice bargain.

XXX

Of course, my escape from Konoha did not go unnoticed.

Sakura stopped me first.

I'll admit: when I saw her, I nearly gave in right there.

It was difficult, to betray one's own friends in such a manner, even if I was doing it for their own sakes.

And the worst part was that Sakura hadn't even asked me to stay. No, she had begged me to take her with me.

I was tempted. It would have been so easy. Even if I didn't return her feelings, she was still a precious friend and comrade. Just one word, and I could have taken her with me.

Just one word, and I could have had the companionship I so craved.

But in the end, I was dedicated, and taking Sakura with me would have defeated the purpose of leaving in the first place.

I left her knocked out on a nearby bench. She still gives me crap about that.

XXX

Once I completed my transformation and exited that barrel the Sound Four had placed me in, I had the option to flee directly to Orochimaru, but I decided not to.

The reason?

It was simple: Actions speak louder than words.

I knew that they would send a team after me. I knew that Naruto would be a part of that team.

And I knew that Naruto would be the person who would face me at the Valley of the End.

It was actually kind of strange. "Actions speak louder than words," is a phrase that has been hammered into all of us over and over again throughout our lives, and yet…

That idiot, that _dobe_, was the only person who ever seemed to _really_ understand it.

And that was why I knew that we would be able to communicate through our fists. That was why I knew that once we fought, Naruto would be the one person who would truly, _truly_ be able to understand, no matter how subconsciously, and no matter what I said, that I was still the same Sasuke he once knew.

Call me selfish, but I needed that.

I knew that if _he_ knew that, then no matter how much doubt I sowed in the others' hearts, no matter what my _future _actions said…

He would still believe in me.

And that would be enough.

A/N: Have no idea whether or not to continue this, but I like it. Maybe there will be a chapter 2, maybe there won't be. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

And if you did, then please give a round of applause to my Beta, Ser Serendipity. Writing Sasuke's First-person POV is never easy, but he took the mess that was the original chapter and made it _flow_. The end result is much better than I thought it ever could be, and it's all thanks to him.


End file.
